The present invention relates to a method of controlling an elevator installation with multiple cars, by means of which several floors can be served with one stop, wherein the travel requests are allocated to the elevator car.
There has become known from the European patent specification EP 0 459 169 a destination call control for a elevator installation with multiple cars, wherein a call is allocated directly after input and the allocated elevator and the position of the elevator car are displayed on a display field of the actuated call registration device. Associated with each car deck is the call store in which are stored the calls that are input at the main stopping point and characterize the destination floors. A switching circuit is connected at the input side with the call stores in such a manner that in dependence on an allocated call the relevant multiple car is established as stopping at even-numbered/uneven-numbered or uneven-numbered/even-numbered floor pairs. At the output side, the switching circuit is connected by way of a switching device with a comparison device, so that, in dependence on a further call still to be allocated, neither the multiple cars stopping at even-numbered/uneven-numbered floor pairs or the multiple cars stopping at uneven-numbered/even-numbered floor pairs can participate in the comparison and allocation method.
A disadvantage of the known device is that the route of the multiple car is already limited to the main stopping point by the allocation of the even-numbered/uneven-numbered or the uneven-numbered/even-numbered floor, which in turn adversely influences the carrying capacity of the elevator installation.
The present invention concerns a method for the operation of an elevator installation meets the objective of avoiding the disadvantages of the known device and of providing for control of a elevator installation with multiple cars in which the allocation of the car decks improves the performance of the elevator installation.
The destination call control offers, with the call input at the floor and with the knowledge of the destination floor for each passenger, very important information which is of primary significance for the selection of the optimum elevator. Experiences with elevator installations with multiple cars and simulations show that it is very important in the case of elevator installations with multiple cars to minimize the number of stops of the multiple cars. This can only be achieved if the allocation of the car decks can be changed up to the last possible moment. It is of no significance to the user which deck brings him to the destination. The method according to the present invention has the purpose of a dynamic deck allocation to the individual destination calls. With the method, the allocation of each car deck is optimized on the basis of analysis of the allocations of other calls not only at the starting-point floor and the environment thereof, but also at the destination floor and the environment thereof.
The advantages achieved by the method according to the invention are essentially to be seen in that the number of necessary stops of the elevator car is automatically minimized. Moreover, there is prevention of unnecessary overlapping stops. An overlapping stop arises in the case of an elevator car with, for example, two car decks when only three instead of four floors are served with two stops. The allocation of the floors to several elevators of an elevator group can be optimized. In the case of between-floor traffic each of the elevators can be used; a division in even-numbered/uneven-numbered groups or uneven-numbered/even-numbered groups is not necessary. The users can be served in an optimum manner by matching the loading of the car decks or with full load of one car deck. The elevators can also be better utilized for special journeys, for example VIP operation.
An elevator group consists of, for example, a group of six elevators A, B, C, D, E, F each with a respective multiple car. It will be assumed that for a new destination call from the starting point floor S to the destination floor Z the allocation algorithm determines, in accordance with a known costs calculation principle for destination call controls, the elevator B as the most favorable elevator in terms of cost. Directly thereafter the car deck executing the travel request for the starting-point floor S to the destination floor Z is determined in accordance with the method according to the present invention. The method for dynamic allocation of the car decks is explained in more detail in the following description. The deck allocation is carried out internally of the control without communication to the user.